The US affirmed that deals with Iran to safely sail through the Strait of Hormuz — even those which don’t involve paying a toll — aren’t allowed, as the conflict between the two nations grinds on.
“Regardless of whether a payment is made, US persons are prohibited from receiving services from the Government of Iran, including services related to a guarantee of safe passage,” the US Treasury said in an updated statement dated May 29.
Shipping through Hormuz — the vital waterway that connects energy infrastructure inside the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world — has slowed to a trickle since the Iran war began on Feb. 28, sending the price of oil soaring. The White House has sent conflicting messages on the prospects for a deal with Iran, a pattern that continued on Friday.
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Iran created a new entity called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority to “collect tolls and extort vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” Treasury said in the statement. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated the PGSA “pursuant to our counterterrorism authorities,” and warned that having dealings with it carries sanctions risks.
While shipping has dramatically slowed through Hormuz, some vessels have made the crossing: roughly one-quarter of the non-Iranian large oil tankers trapped inside the Persian Gulf at the outbreak of the Iran war have managed to slip out in a slow, stealthy trickle.
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Payments to — and guarantees from — the Iranian government or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would not be authorized, according to the statement.